Going Back
by Master of Air
Summary: Aang has memories of his best freind from one hundred years ago, why does Katara remind him so much of her?
1. These Memories

**Going Back**

**Chapter One**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or the characters. I do own Aoi though.

" Oh yeah, I win! Booyah, Aang!" A girl cheered to herself as she reached her hands across the board game, hoarding the coins into her arms. Aang looked away, an annoyed look on his face.

" I don't want to play anymore." He sighed, standing up and stretching. The girl raised her gray eyes at him, and sniffed as if sad.

" Why? Oh, I get it. You're afraid your going to loose for the sixteenth time." The girl muttered. Aang looked back at her.

" Let's go do something fun, then." Aang suggested, he didn't feel like continuously playing a loosing game. The girl gave in, and pocketed her coins as she stood up from the board game.

" So, what are we going to do?" She asked. Aang shrugged, as they walked side by side through the arch that led to the training halls. A couple of young monks were doing some simple techniques. They stopped when Aang and his companion came out.

A tall one laughed to his friends and whispered something before he shouted, " Hey look, guys! It's Aang and his girlfriend." Everyone cracked up. Aang blushed and shifted nervously. The girl managed to hide her reddened face for a minute, until her head shot back up and she glared at the boys.

" Don't be so immature, Gari. You wouldn't know the first thing about girlfriends!" She cried, as she ran past them and jumped over the railing, out of sight. Aang walked past them too, and glanced over the railing. He could see her making her way down the mountain. _Maybe I should follow her._

" Well she's a little testy today." The tall boy, named Gari mentioned, looking over Aangs' shoulder at her now microscopic figure. Aang was staring down the mountain and didn't realize that Gari had said something to him.

" Aang? Earth to Aang?"

" Huh?" Aang replied cluelessly.

" I said, do want to play air ball with us?" He asked, again. Aang looked from him, then down the mountain.

" Maybe later, Gari." Without another word, Aang had vaulted down the mountain.

" That guy…" Gari murmured and turned back to the others.

Aoi did this a lot. She got angry easily. She shouldn't, there is usually nothing to be mad about. The other's did hassle her a lot, for being a girl. Aoi came from the eastern temple to the southern one because she wanted to see Aang. He was her best friend and she wanted to be close to him. Aoi was a very proud airbender, she loved bending and didn't venture out into the other territories often, even though Aang was quite the adventurer, and did a lot.

Aang caught up with her as she was sitting at the bottom on a boulder, rubbing her shin. " What's the matter?" He asked, sitting down next to her. She didn't bother looking at him as she answered.

" Banged my shin." She muttered, looking away. Aang put his hands in his lap and started to twiddle his thumbs, while he tilted his head to the sky. It was shrouded in clouds, and rainy so he couldn't see much. He looked back at her.

" Are you going to be okay?"

" Sure." Aoi said smally. Aang kept staring, she turned. " What?"

" Um, nothing. So, about what those guys said…" Aang started, but Aoi cut him off.

" Don't worry about it. I'm not supposed to be coming to the southern temple as often as I do, anyway." Aoi said, leaning back a little and putting her hands behind her head.

" Okay, but I probably should have said something back there…" Aang started again, but he quickly stopped, when he noticed the look she was giving him.

" Forget that, just promise me something." Aoi said abruptly. Aang gave her his full attention, as she got within an inch close to his face. He blinked once, before she continued. " Don't ever leave me alone, okay?"

He didn't quite understand what she meant, but he nodded none the less.

" I feel like I was just talking to her." Aang muttered, gripping Appas' reins more tightly. Aang tilted his head down, so he wasn't looking where it was he was flying.

" Aang, did you say something?" Katara asked, peering over Appa. She was very different then Aoi had been. They were totally different in appearance, but their personalities were somewhat similar. That was one of the reasons he related and liked Katara so much. Aang turned to look at her.

" Yeah, I was just thinking of someone." He replied, Katara continued to stare at him. " We'll be at the southern air temple soon." Aang noted, seeing the Petola Mountain Range coming into view.

" Hey, Aang! You think they'll be food there?" Sokka called from behind them, Katara glared at her brother while Aang chuckled.

" Your guess is as good as mine, Sokka." He said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

" All I know is, If I don't find some food soon, I'll have to resort to desperate measures." Sokka said, in an almost hungry, malice tone. Katara laughed.

" I don't even want to know what your desperate measures would be."

" That's exactly why I'm not going to tell you." Sokka said, crossing his arms.

" Well, maybe if you remembered to eat before we left you wouldn't be hungry." Katara mentioned.

" Well, maybe if you remembered to eat before we left you wouldn't be hungry!" Sokka mocked, high pitched, waving his hands back and forth.

" You're so immature!" She yelled at him, Aang glanced toward them. He blinked, it felt like he was experiencing déjà vu. Katara sounded like Aoi just then. He turned his attention back forward. They were approaching the mountains.

" Hang on you guys!" Aang cried over the yelling.

I've been playing around with this idea for quite sometime, I really like airbenders, so I decided to write this kind of fic. Please review.


	2. Contemplating

**Chapter Two**

" I never thought I could have this much fun with a boy." Aoi laughed, rolling over onto her stomach. It was Aoi's first time in the Earth Kingdom, and Aang had just showed her how to sky skate on the grassy hills that covered the kingdom. Aang touched down and plopped down next to her.

" So you're pleasently surprised then?" Aang asked, smiling at her. Aoi squinted up at the sun before answering.

" Yeah. I guess I am." She said gently. Aang lay back onto the cushy grass, putting his hands behind his head and staring into the clear sky.

" I'm glad you agreed to come with me, Aoi."

Aoi glanced over at him, putting her hands under her chin. " I'm glad too."

" Aang, where are you going?" Katara asked from behind him. Sokkas' stomach growled and he doubled over pathetically.

" I am so hungry!" He whined. Katara elbowed him.

" Aang?" Aang looked back as he continued walking forward.

" I have to see something." He replied, distracted. Katara eyed him suspiciously.

They had arrived at the Southern Air Temple and were walking the winding paths that seemed endless in the temple. They had walked for some time before they came to a clearing. A statue of an old man was placed in the middle. Aang walked up to it slowly, he had been here so many times before, yet so many years ago. In addition to the temple being deserted, it had grown cold and sad. Nothing likehe had remembered. He desperately wanted to find something that was still alive in his mind. This statue of Gyatso. His friend, his mentor, his father. Well, that wasn't correct. Monk Gyatso wasn't his biological father. He had never known his real father. Aang was taken as a baby from his parents before he even remembered their faces. Gyatso acted as a father to him. He watched out for him, and now he was gone.

Aang stretched his hand over to the statue. He placed his palm on the side of it, which acted as the statues' arm. " Gyatso…" He breathed.

" Who's that?" Katara whispered, cautious of disturbing him. Aang smiled to himself then turned to his friends.

" This is Monk Gyatso. He was my mentor and an amazing airbender." Aang explained. Katara noted that this man must have been very important to him. Aangs' smiled faded.

" What's the matter?" Sokka asked, feeling a tinge of pity for the boy.

Aang walked past the statue, ignoring the question. " Let's go." Sokka and Katara exchanged looks before following. Aang changed into a sprint as he darted down the hallway of the temple. Katara and Sokka sped up in an attempt to keep pace.

" _Now_ where are you heading?" Sokka huffed. Aang laughed and shouted back to them.

" No where. It's just I never got to run in this hallway before!" The siblings stopped and stared at Aang in disbelief.

" He is one weird kid." The older boy said, shaking his head. Katara chuckled in agreement. Aang slowed down to look up at a very large door. Or doors. There was two and they had airbending signs and symbols on them. Aang recognized this door. It was the Air Sanctuary.

" Hey, look, doors." Sokka said sarcastically. Aang turned to face Katara and Sokka who had just caught up to him.

" Not ordinary doors, Sokka. These are the doors that lead into the Air Sanctuary." Sokka stared.

" And that would be?"

" Let me show you, it's easier that way."

Sokka shrugged. " 'Kay."

Katara was more hesitant than her brother. " I don't know about this Aang. Do you even know what's in there?"

" No, I don't," He replied happily. " But I'm ready." With a blast of cold air, the doors opened and Aang led them in. He was speechless when he saw whatwas inside.

Statues. Dozens, no hundreds of statues of people. They were of different people dressed elaborately, inh clothing from different races. " Who are these people?" Aang mumbled.

" I don't know, but there are so many…" Katara mouthed. Aang walked around a couple before his gaze settled upon a man. He looked like a firebender; he walked up to him and tilted his head up to stare at him.

" Avatar…" Aang whispered. Sokka ran up clumsily behind him.

" Are you saying that that guy is an Avatar?" He asked. Aang nodded.

" Yeah, I don't know how, but I'm pretty sure he was the one before me." Aang explained without prior knowledge. Sokka gaped.

" The one before you? How do you figure?" Sokka persisted.

" Past lives." Katara came up from behind them.

" What's a past life?" Sokka asked.

" Sokka, a past life. You know, like your spirit living before."

Sokka blinked. " Still lost over here." Aang turned to him.

" I think what Katara is saying is that before I was alive, my spirit inhabited someone else's body, right?" Aang looked for Katara.

" Yeah, that's pretty much right." She nodded.

" Alright. That's freaky." Katara tried to explain more of what she meant, while Aang stared up at all of the past Avatars. He felt dizzy. All of this time, this place was in the temple and he didn't know it. Maybe if he had looked for it sooner instead of obeying what Gyatso said there wouldn't be a war going on? His people would be alive. There would be peace. Why didn't he bother to look sooner? Gyatso would have lived and Aoi…

Aoi. She died too. Aang _knew _she had died, he had come to grips that his people were gone, but it didn't sink in fully until then. She didn't get to live her life, she died with the others, and it was his fault. He was responsible. If he was there to protect her they could have been happy.

" _No_…" Aang whimpered, and fell to his knees. The guilt had taken him; he could feel moist tears in his eyes, blurring his vision. Katara and Sokka ran over to him and bent down to comfort him. They knew it would be hard for him coming back to this place, seeing everyone gone, finding out he was the last of his race. They knew it would hurt. It's just, they didn't know how much.

" It's going to be okay, Aang. It'll be alright." Katara whispered, trying to console him. She wrapped an arm around him. She could feel his shoulders go up and down as he cried.

" We have to move on, Aang. We can't linger too long."

" Sokka!" Katara angrily shoved him.

" I'm sorry, Katara, but it's the truth." Sokka replied, sitting back up. Sokka didn't mean to be hurtful. He was just trying to be comforting in his own way. He was a practical thinker, after all.

" …All my fault….my fault…" Aang muttered. Katara turned Aang around so he was facing her.

" No. Stop it, right now, Aang. In this day in age," Her tone softened. " There is no room for regrets." Aang looked up at her, his face shiny from the tears. He wiped them away with his sleeve and sat on his knees.

" I just…I lost my mentor, my people. My best friend, Katara." Katara sighed sadly.

" I know how you feel, believe me. I lost my mom, because of the Fire Nation." She said, placing her hand on his.

" Were not going to let the Fire Nation get away with it, Aang." Sokka intervened. Katara stood up and pulled on Aangs' hand.

" Come on. Let's go." She urged. Aang didn't want to leave. He just let his hand slip our of hers and he looked at his lap.

" I can't go yet, you guys. I just…can't." He said smally. Katara looked from Aang to Sokka. She thought a moment and then settled back down next to Aang. Sokka looked at her questionably until she motioned for him to do the same. He obeyed and sat down on the other side of Aang.

" Aang?" He looked over at Katara. " Do you want to tell us about your friend?" Aangs' eyes brightened suddenly. She smiled.

" Katara!"

Katara grabbed Sokka by the arm and dragged him to the side. " Listen, Sokka. I think that if Aang tells us about his best friend, he'll be more at peace. Do you get me?" She explained.

" Not really, but if it will help Aang then, okay." Sokka agreed and they took their seats next to Aang.

" Tell us about your friend, Aang."

Aang thought about Aoi, then looked up at his two new friends. He took a deep breath. " Okay. Aoi was my best friend. She was a lot like you Katara…"

--

Please review. I don't know if I'll continue since I only have two reviews.


	3. High Above The Trees

**Chapter Three**

" Where did you learn how to sky skate anyway, Aang?" Aoi asked, gazing at her friend from the corner of her eye. Aang sneezed suddenly, apparently he was allergic to the dandelions that were overflowing on the beautiful hilly plain. Although, it was common to see an airbender allergic to dandelions and other pollinated flowers. You didn't see many of the lower ground plants in the mountains; so most airbenders were allergic. This doesn't explain why Aangwas allergic, seeing as he traveled quite often. None the less, Aoi laughed heartily at his sneezing.

" You're so funny." She smirked. Aangs' brow furrowed in confusion.

" Because I sneezed?" He asked. Aoi punched his arm playfully. Aang rubbed his bicep.

" No, no, silly. You are just a funny person." She put her hands behind her head and lifted off the ground slightly, so it looked similar to the trick that magicians call the 'levitation'. Aoi had a maniacal glint in her eyes as she flipped upside down in midair and placed her hands over Aangs' eyes. He shuffled his knees up.

" Funny, eh? I'll show _you _how funny I am!" Aang slid from beneath Aois' hands and grabbed the light brown staff that sat beside him. He threw it inthe air in front of him and jumped up to grasp it. He titled sideways to see Aoi scrambling on the ground to grab her own identical staff. "Hurry up, Aoi. You get a ten second head start before I chase you!" Aang called to her. She looked up briefly, then bent down and clutched her staff.

" What are you planning on doing?" She shouted.

" You'll see!" Aang shouted back, in a singsong voice.

" Oh my. When Aang says 'You'll see', it usually ends up with me having to explain to some poor farmer or fisherman that we didn't mean to wreck his boat, or we didn't mean to bend his crops down the river." Aoi thought, sweating at the mere thought of thesituation that was probably going to happen.

Aang was gliding over to her at an incredible speed; she hardly had time to flip open her staff and glide straight up to avoid the nosedive Aang was attempting. " Alright, Aoi. Here are the rules; we race to Olibo and whoever gets their first wins! The loser has to make lunch! What do you say?" They were flying next to each other now towards the small Earth Kingdom town of Olibo. Aoi was hesitant, this would probably end badly seeing as it almost always did, but she nodded anyway.

" I guess you've got a deal." She smiled sweetly. " Remember, I like my avocados fried!" Aoi then sped off into the endless blue abyss before her. The wind whipped at her face, but being an airbender she was used to it. Of course she was still learning to bend, because every so often a wind current would casually blow by sending her tilting sharply to the side. Aoi had a bad habit of screaming a very squeaky scream every time this happened. Aang had no problem gliding through the sky; he had always been a natural. Even for an airbender.

Hewas at her side in a minute, grinning and closing his eyes. " This is fun!" He announced, eyes remaining closed. Aoi stared at him, giving him an odd look.

" Aang?" She asked, hoping he would open his eyes once she called his name.

" Yeah?" He called back, eyes still shut.

" How can you fly without being able to see?"

Aang finally opened one eye and looked around for Aoi. " It's a gift." He said with a sly grin.

" Oh, come on. What's up? How come you're not bumping into things?" She persisted. Aoi knew he was good, but flying with your eyes closed? No one can do that.

" I'll tell you a secret," The bald monk whispered, yet was still heard over the streams of air flying past them. " Mediate." He laughed and in the process, took his right hand off his glider, making him off balance, so in turn he was sent sprawling down towards the ground. Aoi screamed in terror, a sort of gut reflex for anyone concerned in this situation.

" AANG!" Aoi hit into gear, pulling her glider down practically over her eyes. This motion made her faster and she got down close enough to watch Aang land rather safely in a tree. Actually he plummeted through its canopy, staff and all. Aoi didn't slow her pace until she was at least five feet away from the ground. She skidded onto the dirt next to the bunch of trees that she saw Aang fall in. She didn't bother to put her staff up; but threw it to the side and ran to the enormous trunk.

Aoi peered through its leaves and branches, not being able to see anything; she called out his name. He didn't answer at first but then as Aoi was about to hop up into the tree, he fell down, staff in tow. Aoi squealed for joy as he slid off the trunk and stood upright.

" Well," He paused looking at his now torn staff. " I guess I need to meditate more."

Aoi took her staff and smashed it on the back on Aangs' head. He fell flat on the ground, twitching. " That's for worrying me." She pulled him up by the collar. He rubbed his head and laughed sheepishly. Suddenly Aoi wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug. She let him go a second later and took a step back.

" What was that for?"

" For not dying."

" I wasn't going to die." Aang eyed his staff that lay near Aois'. She noticed and picked it up, examining the significant holes in it.

" You're going to need a new one." She said, deadly calm.

" Uh, yeah," Aang gulped. " G-guess so…" He knew what was coming.

" Shunyei spends all of his time crafting these and you go and break them!" Aoi erupted, stomping back and forth while waving Aangs' limp staff back and forth. " That's the fourth one this month!" Aang stared at the bushes.

" Sorry."

Aoi sighed. " Sometimes I feel like your mother."

Aang didn't know what to say to this so he stayed silent. " It's going to take us a while to walk back, isn't it?" Aoi put her hands on her hips and exhaled.

" To the Southern Temple? Yes." She grinned. " To the Eastern one, that's only a couple of miles away." Aang looked like he didn't understand was she was saying because his expression didn't change.

" Well…" He started to protest.

" If you want to walk forty miles west then go ahead, I'm going home." Aoi walked to the side of Aang and picked up her own staff, dropping his at his feet. She positionedher gliderin front of her and glanced back at Aang one last time before taking off. Aang watched hersoar farther and farther away.

" AOI! Wait, come back!" He managed to yell as hard as he could without damaging his vocal cords. Aoi seemed to hear him because she came back down. She landed and put up her glider.

They looked almost identical, for male or female if you were an airbender, you wore the same regulation-training outfit. With the exception of Aoi being a little taller then Aang and she had light brown hair that sat just below her shoulder blades.

" Come on, Aang." Aoi waved her hand. They had to walk two miles, which would take about forty-five minutes if they didn't stop.

The Eastern Temple was Aois' home. She grew up there like a normal airbender, but her temple was for female Air Nomads who were training to be airbenders. The temple consisted of two hundred or so novices and five elders. All four temples operated like this, with the Eastern and Western being for woman and the Southern and Northern for men.

Generally the boys interacted with the boys and the girls with the girls. This was a rule made to avoid any unwanteddrama between the two genders, but occasionally you would see a few girls at the male temples. Aoi was one of these girls. She preferred to be around the males anyway. They were simpler then the girls and could train for long periods of time without getting upset like the females did.

Aoi was at the Eastern Temple half the time she spent at the Southern one. She enjoyed Aangs' company and he was fun. Although, even if Aang loved to spend time with Aoi, he didn't like the Eastern Temple much. Being raised in an all male environment; he was uncomfortable around girls other then Aoi. Needless to say, the other girls quite liked when a boy came.

Aang and Aoi had took to walking through the forests instead of in the fields because it was rather hot outside and they liked the shade given off by the tall trees. Living in the mountains, they were used to calm, cool temperatures.

Aang didn't like walking, Aoi didn't particularly like it either but she didn't complain about it as much as he did. She watched him drag his feet and pull his staff behind him. " Just be glad that you're not walking forty-five miles." Aoi laughed.

" Yeah, of course." Aang agreed, rubbing the back of his neck.

* * *

Please review. It's what keeps me writing.


	4. A True Storyteller

**Chapter Four**

Aoi had a soft spot for Aang, everyone knew. The girls at the Eastern Temple enjoyed taunting her for it. It was a little odd though, Aoi had just recently turned fourteen and Aang was twelve. It baffled even her to why she was so attached to him. Though, Aang wasn't unattractive, he was cute. In his own, goofy way. Which is why he got a lot of attention from her friends. Her 'friends', if you could call them that were the leaders. They called the shots when it came to the novices at the temple. Midori was a beautiful girl that wasn't much of an airbender but that didn't seem to matter, she was always attention hungry. She got what she wanted when she wanted it. Midori was nice to Aoi, only because Aoi was one of the better airbenders at the Eastern Temple, thanks to Aang and Monk Gyatso's training, and could probably put her in her place if it was needed. Kameko and Oki were equally vindictive, but were merely followers.

Aang didn't notice that Aoi got angry when he went off to show Midori and the others some 'airbending tricks'. He was naïve enough and didn't think anything of the other girls. Actually, he looked like he enjoyed the attention most of the time.

When Aang and Aoi arrived at the Eastern Temple, the Highest Nun, Hoshi welcomed them.

" Aang. What a pleasure, as always." She smiled warmly at the boy; her gaze fell on Aoi.

Hoshi didn't like Aoi much, even if she didn't outwardly show it, she wasn't fond of her because of her reputation for causing trouble in the Earth Kingdom. Even if it was Aang who usually put her in those situations. Hoshi's light brown eyes flickered with slight anger. Hoshi preferred Air Nomads to be invisible; she wanted to exist silently. Though, everyone didn't feel that way, fortunately.

" Aoi, I'm hoping you haven't come to report any…damage?" The High Airbender suggested. Aoi clenched her fists, because Hoshi was always thinking she was the one to cause such trouble.

" Of course not, ma'am. Aang happened to tear his glider. Were here for repairs." She explained lightly, not letting her anger control the tone of her voice.

Hoshi blinked at her uncertainly. " Really?"

Aang interjected. " Yeah. You see, it's a funny story, actually." He laughed.

" Oh, yeah. Real funny!" Aoi laughed along with Aang.

" Care to elaborate?" The older airbender persisted, her face emotionless.

Aang looked at Aoi, waiting for her to tell the story.

" What? I…I think you should tell her Aang." Aoi said, out of the corner of her mouth. She elbowed him. He jumped.

" Right. Well, it was dark. The moon was shining and me and Aoi--" Aang started to explain, hand motions and all, until Hoshi interrupted.

" _Aoi and I._" She corrected. Aang raised an eyebrow.

" No…me and Aoi. I'm pretty sure you weren't there, ma'am." Aang chuckled at his joke for a while until he noticed Aoi was fidgeting with her belt band, looking down and Hoshi was blinking a lot. " Anyway," He continued, clearing his throat. " We were stalking through the night, like ninjas!"

" Ninjas!" Hoshi gasped.

" Oh, yes. We had been walking for so long. It seemed like an eternity. So Aoi here suggested that we go find some food. Well, truth be told every single shop we went to was closed! So, I being the brave man I am said we should _take_ the food!" Aang acted very serious as he explained the fictional story. If Hoshi didn't believe it, she gave no signs because she just stared wide-eyed.

" You wouldn't dare steal!" She asked, exasperated.

" Oh, no. Never. We would _never_ think of stealing! Right, Aang?" Aoi motioned for Aang to agree, but he was having too much fun and just denied it. Aoi didn't feel like Hoshi should check off stealing as one of Aoi's troublemaking skills.

" Aoi! You must have forgotten our dire situation. We were going to starve! Surely you would approve of stealing two measly pieces of bread, right ma'am?" Aang asked. Hoshi looked taken aback when the question was directed towards her.

" Why, I suppose if the circumstances were that severe--" She stuttered, but Aang just nodded in agreement.

" Yes they were, so like I was saying, we had crept into an small Earth Kingdom village. They were having a feast. It was a wedding, wasn't it Aoi?" He turned to Aoi, who was rubbing her temples.

She nodded, pathetically.

" There was so much food, it could have fed the whole Fire Nation Army!" He went on, looking like he believed his story himself. " I thought that we should just take a few things, but Aoi, man. She must have been hungry, because she said we should just bend a whole table of food." Aois' jaw dropped as she heard this. Why was he making her seem like the bad one?

Aang walked over and put his arm around Aoi's shoulder, he pulled her close in a friendly, buddy kind of way. " Now, ma'am. This girl, she's my best friend, and I just couldn't say _no_ to her. So, I agreed and we took the whole table of food to us. Let's just say they guests weren't to happy."

Aoi shrugged out of Aangs' grip and glared at him. " He must have a fever." She muttered.

" They must have been angry!" Hoshi ignored Aoi's comment and edged towards Aang. He nodded.

" Oh, they were. In fact, there was a few earthbenders and we got into a little conflict." He finished, satisfied with his brilliant story. " That is how my glider got torn."

Hoshi was speechless. " Well…my…"

" It's so unbelievable, I'm having trouble believing it myself, ma'am." Aoi stated, eyes darting in Aang's direction. He smiled sheepishly at her. She shook her head.

" My, my. What are my darling niece and her boyfriend up to now?" An angelic voice said from behind Hoshi. Aoi felt a surge of anger at hearing that Aang was her 'boyfriend', _again._ She frantically moved from side to side to see her aunt, Nyoko stand gingerly beside the elderly woman.

" I resent that, Aunt!" Aoi cried, tensing up.

Aoi's Aunt Nyoko was one of the five High Nuns at the Eastern Temple. She was tall and had a soft, oval face. Her extremely long, light brown hair fell to her back where it was tied at the end. Her orange and yellow robes cascaded all down her slender body.

" Oh, you know I only joke, my dear." She said, grinning behind her sun-colored fan she had taken out of her sleeve.

" Nyoko?" Hoshi spoke up, looking up at the new woman.

" Ah, Hoshi. I didn't see you down there." She joked. Hoshi merely narrowed her eyes at the youngest of the High Nuns.

" You should have been here to hear the…er…interesting story these two just told me." Hoshi looked as if she didn't believe Aang's story anymore from the way she was glancing from one to the other.

" Aang told you!" Aoi corrected, jutting her arm over her head in the process. They all looked at her curiously.

"…Of course." Hoshi muttered, turning back to Nyoko. " You must talk to your niece about this behavior." She said, gathering her robes and turning. " Or I will." She snapped in Nyokos' ear before walking the corner into another corridor.

Nyoko waved to her elder and eyed Aoi and Aang, suspiciously. " I would have so liked to hear this wonderful story of yours, Aang." She said slowly as to make him uneasy.

Aoi grabbed Aangs' arm and pulled him into another corridor. " Maybe later, Aunt Nyoko!" She called back before running down the hallway, Aang at her heels. She spun around, abruptly, causing Aang to collide into her.

" What the heck was that?" Aoi demanded, watching Aang pull himself back onto his feet.

" What do you mean?" He asked, rubbing a now visible bump on the back of his head. Aoi kept her cool, surprisingly.

" What was with the story?"

" Oh, that."

" YES, THAT!" Aoi shouted, causing a few young novices passing by to stare. She sighed heavily to calm down. " Hoshi already thinks I'm a bad egg. You telling a crazy story off the top of your head doesn't look good for me." She explained. Aang nodded.

" Sorry."

" Don't apologize. Just…stop being such a dummy!"

Aang grinned. " Sure." He kept grinning at her, like he knew something she didn't.

" W-what? What are you looking at?" She became flustered.

" Oh, nothing. I was just having fun back there. You need to lighten up, Aoi." Aang reminded her, giving her a look. He turned around and walked further down the corridor, humming a tune.

" Where are you going?" Aoi ran to catch up. Aang turned back just in time to be tackled to the ground by Aoi. She held his arms so he wouldn't move. Aang looked distraught and uncomfortable, in more ways then one. He tried to wriggle out, but it was no use, Aoi was determined.'

" How's this?" She whispered. Aang blinked.

" Uh…"

Aoi moved off of him and sat on the hard floor beside him. " How's that for 'lightening up'?" She giggled.

Aang coughed. " That was…um…good."

She turned her head. " Good."

" Well, well. What do we have here girls?" A shrill female voice rang out from somewhere in the hallway. Aang and Aoi turned to see Midori and her grunts.

" Midori…" Aoi muttered, not exactly in a happy tone. Midori smiled at Aoi, which looked as if she could spit venom at any moment. She turned her smile to Aang and it turned rapidly sweet in seconds.

" If it isn't my favorite little monk!" Midori strutted past Aoi and bent down to be eye level with Aang, who was still sitting on the ground.

" Hey Midori." He greeted, with the same tone he greeted Hoshi with.

She pat his head lovingly. " What little game are you two kids playing?" She asked, mock innocent. Aang opened his mouth to answer but Aoi interrupted.

" Were both fourteen, Midori."

Midori glanced lazily at Aoi. " Some of us _act_ our age."

" What does that mean, you witc--"

" Now don't say anything you'll regret." She said icily.

" Don't test me." Aoi replied, equally icy.

" So, girls! How bout a little air ball?" Aang suggested, standing up and clapping his hands. Aoi stood as well and whirled around so she was walking away in the opposite direction that she came. Midori looked satisfied that Aoi has stomped away because she slid her arm over Aangs' shoulders and grinned down at him.

" So…about that air ball." Oki said from behind Midori.

" You want to play?" Aang asked hopefully, but glancing sideways at Aoi who was rounding the corner. " Actually, on second though, maybe I should go--"

" Oh no, hun. She just needs space. Come with us." Midori said softly. Aang shrugged reluctantly and followed Midori, Kameko, and Oki.

Oooh, drama. Sorry about that. I couldn't resist. Ah, now the part where I beg pathetically for reviews. Come on, people. Work with me.


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